4.  The applicant was born in 1965 and lives in Trnava.
5.  The applicant is the defendant in civil proceedings concerning the dissolution of co-ownership of a real estate. The proceedings were instituted before the Trnava District Court on 27 March 1991.
6.  In the course of 1991 four hearings were scheduled in the case.
7.  On 14 February 1992 an expert opinion was submitted and on 4 March 1992 the District Court asked a different expert to submit an opinion. On 10 November 1993 a third expert was asked to submit an opinion.
8.  Between 17 December 1992 and 11 March 1993 the Bratislava Regional Court dealt with the applicant’s appeal against the decision on an advance on experts’ costs.
9.  The third expert’s opinion was served on the parties on 15 February 1993.
10.  Three hearings were held between March and July 1993. During the same period the second expert was asked for an opinion. It was submitted on 31 May 1993. On 30 March 1993 the applicant appealed against the decision on experts’ fees.
11.  On 5 August 1993 the second and third experts were heard.
12.  A hearing was held on 11 October 1993.
13.  On 13 October 1993 the District Court exempted the applicant from the obligation to pay fees.
14.  On 18 March 1994 the third expert submitted a further opinion at the District Court’s request of 16 December 1993.
15.  Two hearings were held in May 1994.
16.  On 22 July 1994 an administrative authority submitted its opinion on possible distribution of the real estate.
17.  The District Court heard the parties on 17 October 1994. On 17 November 1994 it delivered a judgment by which it dissolved the joint ownership of the estate and distributed it between the owners.
18.  On 20 April 1995 the appellate court quashed the judgment following the applicant’s appeal.
19.  Hearings before the District Court were scheduled for 18 October 1995 and 20 November 1995. The applicant and the expert did not appear at the former hearing. Another hearing was held on 13 December 1995.
20.  On 12 February 1996 the file was submitted to the Regional Court as the applicant had challenged the Trnava District Court judge dealing with the case.
21.  The file was returned to the District Court on 4 March 1996 after the Regional Court had decided that the judge was not biased.
22.  On 12 June 1996 the District Court dismissed the applicant’s request for exemption from the obligation to pay the court fees. On 31 October 1996 the Regional Court overturned this decision.
23.  On 4 April 1997 an inspection of the property in question took place in the presence of the parties.
24.  On 17 June 1997 the District Court heard the parties. It decided to re‑visit the site in the presence of the expert, the representative of the competent authority and the parties.
25.  On 25 September 1997 the judge and the parties re-visited the site.
26.  On 30 September 1997 the District Court heard the plaintiff. It issued an interim measure prohibiting the plaintiff from re-constructing the property. On 29 May 1998 the Regional Court modified this decision.
27.  On 22 September 1998 the District Court stayed the proceedings pending the outcome of proceedings in which the marital property of the plaintiffs was to be distributed. On 26 February 1999 the Regional Court upheld this decision.
28.  The marital property of the plaintiffs was distributed by a judgment of 2 July 1999 which became final on 8 March 2001. According to the judgment, each of the plaintiffs owned one half of the relevant real property.
29.  On 2 July 2001 the Trnava District Court decided that the proceedings in issue were to be resumed as from 8 March 2001.
30.  On 2 October 2001 the case was adjourned.
31.  On 19 November 2001 one of the plaintiffs informed the District Court that he wished to withdraw his action. In November and December 2001 the District Court tried to establish the whereabouts of that plaintiff.
32.  On 1 March 2002 the other plaintiff informed the District Court that she wished to withdraw the action. On 12 March 2002 the applicant stated that she did not agree to withdrawal of the action and requested that the merits of the case be determined.
33.  On 14 March 2002 the applicant requested that the case be transferred to a different court. The file was submitted to the Regional Court on 7 June 2002. On 31 July 2002 it returned the case to the District Court as the applicant’s request was not sufficiently specific. On 1 August and on 26 September 2002 the District Court asked the applicant to substantiate her request. On 1 October 2002 the applicant was asked to pay a fee. On 9 October 2002 the applicant withdrew her request and the Regional Court in Trnava discontinued the proceedings related to it on 8 October 2003.
34.  On 8 January 2004 the District Court obtained information about the address of one of the plaintiffs.
35.  A hearing was scheduled for 28 June 2004. One of the plaintiffs excused herself from the hearing and informed the court that she did not wish to pursue the case.
36.  On 7 September 2004 the District Court discontinued the proceedings as both plaintiffs had withdrawn their claims.
37.  On 23 September 2004 the applicant appealed and requested that the point in issue be determined. On 5 November 2004 she submitted further reasons for her appeal.
38.  On 29 April 2005 the Regional Court in Trnava upheld the decision to discontinue the proceedings on the merits. It quashed the first-instance decision on the costs of the proceedings and returned the relevant part of the case to the District Court.
39.  On 26 August 2005 the applicant filed an appeal on points of law against the Regional Court’s decision.
40.  On 2 November 2005 the District Court exempted the applicant from the obligation to pay the cassation fee.
41.  On 16 December 2005 the file was submitted to the Supreme Court for a decision on the applicant’s appeal on points of law.
42.  The proceedings are pending.
43.  On 20 November 1995 the applicant claimed a sum of money from an individual before the Trnava District Court.
44.  On 4 December 1995 the applicant informed the District Court that the defendant had paid a part of the sum due.
45.  Five hearings were scheduled between January and May 1996.
46.  Another two hearings were held on 15 November and on 17 December 1996.
47.  In April 1997 the case was assigned to a different judge.
48.  On 21 July 1997 the District Court asked the parties to submit comments on documentary evidence. The applicant replied on 1 August 1997. The mail, including a reminder, addressed to the defendant was returned to the court.
49.  On 1 December 1997 and on 7 January 1999 the case was adjourned as the defendant had refused to receive the summons. The police informed the court that the defendant did not live at the addresses indicated by the court.
50.  On 8 February 1999 the Central Population Registry informed the District Court of the defendant’s permanent address.
51.  On 25 May 1999 the court accepted a modification of the applicant’s claim. The defendant challenged the judge. The case was therefore adjourned and the file was transmitted to the Banská Bystrica Regional Court on 1 June 1999.
52.  On 29 July 1999 the Regional Court found that the District Court judge was not biased. The file was returned to the District Court on 8 September 1999. The District Court sent the decision to the parties on 1 February 2000. As the mail sent to the defendant was returned to the court, it requested the police to serve it on him. On 11 August 2000 the District Court again sent the Regional Court’s decision of 29 July 1999 to the defendant. On 5 November 2000 the District Court judge made a note that the mail sent to the defendant had neither been served nor returned to the court. The mail was returned, undelivered, on 15 November 2000.
53.  On 30 October 2000 the case was assigned to a different judge.
54.  On 5 December 2000 the District Court again asked the police to serve the above decision on the defendant. It also asked the Trnava Town Office to inform it of the defendant’s address. The Town Office replied on 29 December 2000. On 2 January 2001 the police informed the District Court that it was impossible to serve the decision on the defendant. On 26 March 2001 the District Court again asked the police to serve the document on the defendant. On 26 April 2001 the police informed the court that they could not reach the defendant.
55.  On 1 August 2001 a different judge was assigned to deal with the case. The judge received the file on 6 September 2001.
56.  On 13 November 2002 the case was adjourned because of the absence of the defendant. On the same day the applicant informed the court that the defendant had paid the remainder of the sum due. She modified her claim in that she claimed default interest on the sum in question and reimbursement of her costs.
57.  On 25 November and on 2 December 2002 the authorities concerned informed the District Court of the addresses at which the defendant was registered.
58.  On 27 June 2003 the District Court heard the parties. On 4 July 2003 the applicant specified her outstanding claim at the court’s request.
59.  On 9 December 2003 the applicant extended her claim in that she claimed an additional sum from the defendant.
60.  On 10 December 2003 the District Court held a hearing at which the defendant failed to appear. It invited the applicant to file her additional claim in accordance with the formal requirements. The applicant replied. On 27 February 2004 she made a new submission in respect of the relevant part of the claim at the court’s request of 7 January 2004.
61.  On 13 May 2004 the applicant complained to the President of the District Court that the case had not been proceeded with despite the Constitutional Court’s order of 27 October 2003 (see paragraph 74 below). On 28 June 2004 the vice-president of the District Court dismissed the complaint as being manifestly ill-founded.
62.  On 9 September 2004 the applicant asked the District Court to indicate the shortcomings which had to be rectified in her action.
63.  On 16 September 2004 the District Court issued a decision requesting the applicant to eliminate a number of specific shortcomings in her claim within 10 days. That decision was served on the applicant on 4 January 2005.
64.  On 13 January 2005 the applicant informed the District Court that she wished to withdraw her claim for payment of the debt and the additional sum and that she only requested that the defendant be ordered to reimburse her costs and expenses.
65.  On 16 September 2005 the defendant submitted comments on the case.
66.  On 7 December 2005 the District Court held a hearing. It invited the applicant to specify the sums which she had obtained from the defendant. On 30 December 2005 the applicant replied that she had already submitted that information.
67.  The proceedings are pending.
68.  On 16 December 2002 the applicant complained to the Constitutional Court about the length of the proceedings concerning the dissolution of co-ownership of a real estate. She indicated that the District Court in Trnava was the authority responsible for the alleged violation. The applicant claimed, inter alia, just satisfaction of 130,000 Slovakian korunas (SKK). She later increased this sum to SKK 34 million.
69.  On 27 October 2003 the Constitutional Court found a violation of the applicant’s constitutional right to a hearing without undue delay. It ordered the Trnava District Court to proceed with the case expeditiously. The Constitutional Court further awarded SKK 20,000[1] as just satisfaction to the applicant.
70.  In its finding the Constitutional Court stated that it only had regard to the length of the proceedings after 15 February 1993 when the Constitutional Court Act came into effect.
71.  The Constitutional Court admitted that the overall length of the period under consideration was partly due to the factual complexity of the case. In its view, the applicant had contributed substantially to the length of the proceedings by her procedural motions, such as appeals against procedural decisions, requests for exemption from the obligation to pay the fees, comments on questions put to experts and by challenging the District Court judges.
72.  As regards the conduct of the District Court, the Constitutional Court noted that the period under consideration lasted more than ten years and that during that time the District Court had held seventeen hearings. Even taking into account that the proceedings had been stayed for two years and five months pending the outcome of a different set of proceedings, their overall length was not reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case. The Constitutional Court noted, in particular, that undue delays of thirteen and twelve months respectively had occurred between 4 March 1996 and 4 April 1997 and between 9 October 2002 and 1 October 2003. The decision further stated that the District Court had not proceeded with the case diligently.
(b)  Complaint about the proceedings concerning the applicant’s claim of 20 November 1995
73.  On 6 December 2002 the applicant filed a complaint under Article 127 of the Constitution about the length of the proceedings concerning her claim of 20 November 1995. She claimed, inter alia, SKK 2 million in just satisfaction.
74.  On 27 October 2003 the Constitutional Court found that the Trnava District Court had violated the applicant’s constitutional right to a hearing without undue delay. It ordered the Trnava District Court to proceed with the case expeditiously. The Constitutional Court further awarded SKK 10,000[2] as just satisfaction to the applicant.
75.  The decision stated that the case was not complex. As to the applicant’s conduct, the Constitutional Court noted that the defendant had paid her the remainder of the sum originally due on 27 May 1999 and that she had only informed the District Court of this fact and modified her claim accordingly on 13 November 2002.
76.  The decision further stated that the District Court was responsible for undue delays in the proceedings between 1 December 1997 and 7 January 1999 and between 6 September 2001 and 13 November 2002.
77.  When awarding just satisfaction to the applicant the Constitutional Court took into account that at that time the proceedings no longer concerned the principal sum originally claimed by the applicant, but only default interest and her costs.
(c)  Complaint of 3 May 2004
78.  On 3 May 2004 the applicant again complained to the Constitutional Court about the length of the proceedings before the Trnava District Court which had been brought against her in 1991. She alleged that the District Court had failed to proceed with the case in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s finding of 27 October 2003.
79.  The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint as being inadmissible on 27 May 2004. The decision stated that less than seven months had lapsed from the delivery of the Constitutional Court’s judgment of 27 October 2003.
 
(d)  Submissions of 3 and 9 June 2004
80.  In two separate letters addressed to the Constitutional Court and dated 3 June 2004 the applicant complained that the District Court in Trnava had caused further delays in the proceedings concerning her cases. She requested that an advocate be appointed to represent her in the constitutional proceedings.
81.  In the letter concerning the proceedings brought in 1995 the applicant stated that the District Court had also violated her rights under Articles 8 and 12 of the Convention, under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 and under Articles 2-5 of Protocol No. 7. She submitted no further reasons for that allegation.
82.  On 9 June 2004 the applicant sent a letter to the President of the Constitutional Court requesting that the District Court should proceed with the cases without any further delay.